The chaos files: Pokemon tales
by Chaos-Paladin
Summary: Welcome to a collection of one shots that question my sanity, all posted for your pleasure or mental scarring. Today's episode: Ash, while suffering insomnia, thinks back to the girl he loves the most.
1. It takes two to tango

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, how many snide comments will it take for you to get it?

Ah, one shots! I've never really did one before have I? Anyway, this one shot is a tribute for the two most popular shippings (AAML and AAMayL). With this, I hope to settle all the disputes in this one-shot. Enjoy!

Warning: All of the one shots are random and will be updated at random intervals. ANYTHING can happen!

* * *

Hi there! You guys may know me as the world's greatest Pokémon trainer, superhero, and all time favorite of the ladies, Ash Ketchum…of course I'm Pikachu! What do you mean I'm full of hot air? Oh fine, be like that! Alright, so I'm just your average 14 year old Pokémon trainer (who is hot with the chicks, Heheheh). 

I'm sporting my super cool short sleeve blue sweater, standard blue jeans, and some old cross trainers. To complement my good looks I slip on my fingerless gloves and my super sexy, ultra cool, spiffy Pokémon league baseball cap (No touchie!)…Of course clothes are important Pikachu! What do you mean it's pointless in this one shot? Don't you think all the fan girls out there would like to know what I'm wearing? …Don't get smart with me you little rat! Why are you holding up three fingers? Read between the lines?

…

…

…

Why are you laughing? All you said was…HEY! GET BACK HERE! YEAH, YOU BETTER RUN!

Ahem, sorry for that interruption. Moving on…

During my travels, I've met tons of friends, Pokémon, enemies (worse being team Rocket's puns) and other stuff like that. I've fought against legendary Pokémon, and saved the world several times.

But nothing prepared me for this.

It all started when I met these two girls. One of them was my favorite red head, Misty Waterflower (A.K.A Mallet wielding fireball). She was a really good coach and long time friend, but her anger management needed some serious refining. The second girl was fairly new but just as good of a friend, May Maple (A.K.A. Ultra newbish klutz). She was a very sweet and kind person, but made blondes look coordinated (No offense). As I've traveled with these girls, I've gotten quite attached to them. I really couldn't picture my life without either of them, being the good friends that they are. But ever since I came back home things had gotten…weird. First thing was that the said girls had been extremely nice to me (which creeps me out to the max), then they were at each others throats like crazy. There was this one time where May made a smart comment about Misty. But the bad part was that they were in the kitchen.

Trust me people, the rumors are true. NEVER get a girl mad in the kitchen.

I almost lost my life there, but quick thinking and Pikachu's slopping ketchup eating habits caught her off guard and let us live to see another day. Currently, I'm in my room and about to go out for a walk. I opened the door only to be met by the most impatient faces I've ever seen.

"Ash, we need to talk..." The two girls said. The one of the right, Misty, was wearing her short sleeve yellow shirt and some yellow shorts. Her hair was fixed in the usual upside ponytail. The girl on the right, May, wore her usual red bandanna with black biker shorts and a red and white short sleeve shirt. I swallowed hard when I heard those words.

"Um…sure." I answered, frightened. They guided me down the stairs and towards the kitchen. It was a little past lunch so I didn't get the pleasure of smelling my mom's cooking. They sat me in a chair and gave me a stern glare.

"Alright, we want answers Ketchum!" Misty demanded. They took great displeasure in seeing my baffled expression.

"Who is it going to be Ash?" May asked. I'm not sure if they figured out yet, but I didn't know what they were talking about.

"Who...what?" I asked.

"Which one of us are you going to choose to be your girlfriend?" Misty cleared up.

"ORO?" I gave them shocked stares. You see what I had to deal with? I'm way too young for this stuff

"Who will it be?" Both demanded, towering over me.

This was trouble. I had to find a way to buy some time, or at least breathing space, so I gently pushed them back.

"Do you really want me to answer that now?" I asked them. They gave me a glare that clearly answered the question. "Okay…I'm guessing so. Let's see…" I look back and forth between them.

First, I need to list the good qualities of each, then I need to compare. Misty was there with me the longest of everyone I knew. I only knew May for a short time, so that's point one for Misty. May was very kind to me for a good portion of my trip while Misty nearly killed me more times then I could count, so that's one point for May. Misty could look very pretty when she wanted to, so she gets another point. But then again…May is pretty cute and adorable sometimes so that gets a point. According to my current score board…it's a tie. There's got to be a way to decide and stay alive at the same time.

"…Give me some time…until later on this afternoon…" I told them. After thinking about it, they nodded in agreement.

"Fine, until 5 in the afternoon." Misty said.

That's Misty for ya! Don't you love the way she plans your execution?

Well, the girls went about their two favorite pastimes: Killing each other and pleasing me (NOT in that way! Though I wouldn't mind…). It's half past 12, so that should be enough time, right?

Wrong!

Hours past by, and it was time for me to walk the last mile, which led to my room. I've spent the last few hours trying to figure a way out of this mess, and Pikachu's jokes weren't helping. This was the toughest decision I had to make. One would be happy, the other would kill me. There was only one real way to proceed with this decision and settle this once and for all.

"We're going to decide by flipping this coin!" I told them. They fell over stupidly.

"Your decision is going to be based on luck? That's crazy!" Misty shouted.

"Oh I see, so you're scared?" May taunted. I had to give it to her, she had guts.

"Tch, fine! Give me that blasted coin!" She tried to grab the coin, but May slapped her hand.

"No, let me flip it! She'll probably cheat somehow!"

"I'm not a cheater like you, you little ditz!"

"Don't call me that you Amazon!"

"Why you!" It soon erupted into a full blown cat fight. I could see my tanned, spiky brown haired friend, Brock (A.K.A. No eyed womanizer) at the corner of my eye, wearing his green T-shirt and grey cargo pants. He leaned against the door, looking very amused. Normally, I would be too, but this was getting out of hand real quick…plus my room was getting messy. Great, now their tearing at each other...tearing each other's clothes to be precise…

…I think I could wait just a little while longer…oh wait, my mom's coming, better wrap this up.

I clapped my hands loudly, trying to get their attention. "Alright girls, break it up!" They didn't respond. Jeez, their clothes are getting torn apart.

Must…resist…watching! Got to stop…sexy cat fight! I jumped into the fight in a rush attempt to break it up.

Bad idea.

"Ash, is everything okay up…oh my!" My mom gasped. I was sandwiched between May and Misty, whose clothes were fairly torn and revealing. My clothes were ruffled and dirty, as well as my hair. Brock's nose started to bleed from the _interesting _position we were in. Everything stopped as all three of us stare at my mom, speechless.

"Um…I-I can explain! It's not what it looks like!" I tried to convince her. Even though it was quite the comfortable position, it was the last thing I wanted my mom to see.

"No, no, go ahead. I'll just talk to you after you're…done…" Still shell-shocked, my slowly mom closed the door and left. The only ones in the room were two raging females, me and Brock. No one moved until a flash temporarily blinded us.

"I can't wait to develop these!" Brock grinned, holding a camera in his hands. Before we could kill him, he jumped down the stairs and ran like his life depended on it (which it did). After fixing ourselves (and discreetly wiping the nose bleed from my shirt), we decided that there would be no more fighting…at least until after the decision is made…and my mom left the house (though I didn't say that out loud). The girls stared intently at the coin, almost able to burn it with their very gaze. I gripped the coin tightly, praying for my safety after the coin made its decision. May was heads, Misty was tails. I just hoped that they wouldn't have my head or tail after this.

'I must believe…' I thought to myself. 'Heart of the coins…guide me!' After a few moments, I dramatically flipped the coin. "GO, COIN TOSS!" The coin flipped through the air in rapid succession. The girls clasped their hands together, wishing as hard as they could for the coin to fall in thier favor (and me wishing for my very survival). The coin landed on the wooden floor with a clank. It bounced once…twice…three times before landing on…sides? All three of us fell over in disbelief.

"Didn't see that coming." I mused aloud.

I took the coin and flipped it again, only for it land on sides again. I did it three more times, but the result was the same. That was just my luck. What were the odds?

"So…what's the decision?" May asked. It didn't land on May or Misty's side, so what was the verdict? I grinned widely when it hit me. Why didn't I think of this before?

"I've made my decision!" I announced. The girls gazed at me with hopeful eyes. "I choose both of you to be my girlfriend!"

"…"

"…"

"...What?"

2 minutes later…

"GET BACK HERE!" The girls shouted, carrying weapons of massive pain, otherwise known as mallets.

"It was the coin's decision, not mine!" I reasoned, running down the dirt road. I wonder why they didn't like the idea…

Was it something I said?

* * *

I hope you liked that little one shot! More wierdness to come! Reviews and request are welcomed! Any request or suggestions will be thought about and considered, so send them my way! 


	2. Things mothers should NEVER hear

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon…that's it. If you were expecting something smart, don't look in the mirror!

Welcome to my second one shot and enjoy!

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It was early afternoon in pallet town, and Ash had just got back from the mall. As soon as he got inside the house, he immediately ran to his room and stashed a long object. After securing his valuables, he peaked out his door for two of his best friends. 

"Hey Misty, May!" Ash called. The said girls came to his door.

"What's up Ash?" Misty inquired.

"I have something really cool to show you two. Do you want to see it?"

They both nodded and followed him inside. When they were inside, Ash closed his door. "My mom doesn't like for me to have this kind of stuff, so I had to hide it here." He sat on his bed and dug his hand on the corner. The girls sat by his side.

"What are you trying to hide?" May asked.

"This…"

Meanwhile, Brock was just by Ash's bedroom door when he heard a gasp. _"Wow…it's so big!"_ Brock froze in his tracks. That was Misty's voice.

"What's going in there?" Curious, Brock started to listen in. He could tell from the sounds that they were sitting on his bed, but why did they have the door closed?

"_Pretty impressive isn't it?" Ash boasted._

"_Hey, can I touch the stick?" May pleaded._

"_No way May. It's mine and it's not a stick!"_

Brock's jaw dropped. So that is why he closed the door! He would have never guessed that Ash would do such a thing. How lucky can a 14 year old get these days?

"_Let me play with it. Don't be so greedy." Misty said._

"_Hey, let go! You're gonna break it!"_

"_That's no fair, let me play with it!" Now May was trying to grab it._

Brock couldn't believe his ears. The girls were fighting over it! Why couldn't he be in a fight like that? Just then, Delia came up the stairs and saw Brock.

"Brock, do you know where Ash is?"

"Well…he's kinda…busy right now." Brock answered, gesturing the closed door.

"_Come on guys, quit trying to grab it! There's enough of it for both of you!" Ash said._

Even Delia was starting to get ideas. "What is Ash doing in there?"

Brock rummaged his mind for an answer. He surely couldn't tell her that her _innocent_ son was doing THAT. "He's just having a little fun with the girls…no wait, that didn't sound right. He is just fooling around—ack! That didn't sound good either! Um…he's having a good time in there, no, wait!"

Delia was getting impatient with his babbling. "Brock, just tell me what he is doing!"

"_Hey, you guys are heavy! Get off and let go of it!"_

"_I just want to play with the big stick. Misty's the one who wants to keep it!"_

"_No wait, stop! You guys are moving it too much! WAAAH!"_

_The girls gasped. "Aw man, now we're all wet!"_

_Ash got irritated. "Well, if you girls would've stopped jerking with it this wouldn't have happened! My pants are soaking wet now!"_

That tore it. Delia grabbed the door handle and flung the door open, and for a moment she was startled. The three teens were covered in white liquid and the girls were on top of Ash, trying to wrestle him down. Brock fainted after getting enough excitement.

Delia snapped.

"ASH KETCHUM, YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" She roared.

Never in Ash's life had he seen his mom look so livid. "Um…well you see…err…" He had no way of getting out of the situation.

He was caught.

Showing surrender, he showed his mother what they had been fighting over. "Sorry mom. I know you said not to have this kind of stuff in the house, but I made sure not to buy a real one."

"…What?" When Delia regained her composure, she noticed something that she didn't see earlier. A half empty milkshake had spilled over and the object that the two girls were fighting over wasn't what she thought it was. "You girls were just fighting over a wooden katana the entire time?" The girls nodded, resulting in Delia sighing in relief.

Misty was a little confused. "What else did you think we would fight over? Certainly not Ash." She joked, catching Ash's glare. She thought about the situation and what was said. That was when her eyes widened. "Mrs. Ketchum! I'm surprised at you!" Misty blushed.

"What?" May asked, confused. Misty leaned in and whispered in her ear. When Misty finished, May's face reddened considerably. "Never in a million years!"

"What are you two talking about?" Ash inquired. Both of the girls whispered it in Ash's ear. "Oh…I don't get it." Both of the girls fell over in astonishment. Misty leaned in and whispered again. "I still don't know what you are talking about.

Misty sighed hopelessly. "Think about what Brock broods over time to time."

It took a minute for Ash to think about it. "You mean about the size of his—oh….OH! MOM!" Ash reddened as well.

Never had Delia felt so embarrassed in her life. "I-I didn't mean to think that! It was just the way you three were talking!"

"I can't believe you would think such dirty thoughts!" Ash gasped.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't, but it just happened!"

"It's okay mom, and besides…I showed them that last night!"

3 minutes later…

"I was just kidding mom!" Ash tried to reason, running for his life.

"GET BACK HERE ASH KETCHUM!" Delia yelled, chasing him with the wooden sword in hand.

* * *

Oh what fun that was to write! It's a bit short, but a one shot's a one shot! Stay tuned for the next one! 


	3. One long day

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon! Now quit pestering me, or else!

Thanks to sykilik101's pressure, I've decided to actually attempt a valentine's day one-shot, again! What is the world coming to?

Also, I think I'll dedicate this to sykilik101, since it was his fault I started this.

* * *

"Come on, you can do this. It's easy, right? Just go up to her and…yeah." Ash contemplated to himself. Today was his least favorite holiday, Valentine's Day. The mere thought of what he was about to do made him cringe. To think he was going through all of this trouble just for HER. Why? Simply because she was a great friend…and his mother would probably kill him otherwise. Speaking of which, that was just the person he was going to visit. If buying a gift for a girl was Pokémon training, he would have no idea where to start, let alone go through with it. He went around to the back of his house, finding his auburn haired mother working on the garden. 

"Hi honey! Did you come here to help me with the gardening?" Delia asked, still tending to her work.

"Sorry, but I'm kinda busy. That's why I need your help though. You see…I'm trying to think of a good gift to give Misty and…" Ash heard the sound of a small gardening tool falling to the ground. One look at his mother's surprised face and he knew it was immediately a bad idea to ask her about anything relating to girls, or Misty for that matter.

"Oh Ash! I'm so proud of you! You're just growing up so fast! Falling in love and going out of your way to give Misty a Valentine's gift!" Delia cried dramatically.

"W-w-wait a minute! Who said anything about me being in…in…ick! I just wanted to do something nice for a friend of mine. That's all, really!" Ash corrected, hoping his overactive mom wouldn't get the wrong idea. Him? In love? The idea of it was just plain…icky!

Delia nodded, not believing a single word he was saying. "Alright honey, whatever you say. I do have a voucher for a great gift Misty would love."

"Great! Can I get it from you so I can give Misty a gift? Please?" Ash begged.

"Sure honey, but I need some supplies for the gardening. If you can get me a bag of flower seeds, I'll gladly give you the voucher."

"Okay. I'll be back soon." Ash left to go to the greenhouse not to far from his house.

10 minutes of walking later, Ash arrived at the greenhouse where Delia often got her gardening supplies. The place was quite large and housed rows upon rows of plants, fertilizer, and other such things. Ash saw a young woman there, wearing a neat gardening outfit, taking take of the facility.

"Um, excuse me, miss?" Ash called. The woman turned around and greeted Ash with a pleasant smile.

"Hello, may I help you?" The lady asked.

"I would like to get a few pounds of your flower seeds."

"Oh, um, I would like to help you, but because my wheelbarrow is broken, it would be troubling to get my work done. But if you can get me a wheelbarrow, I'll gladly give you some seeds for free."

"Sure. I'll be back with it." With that, Ash left to go to Professor Oak's laboratory. With all the Pokémon the professor was taking care of, surely he would have a wheelbarrow.

A few minutes later, Ash arrived in the backyard of the laboratory, where the large field set up just for Pokémon was. There, he saw the professor doing some research on a pair of roaming Tauros and went over to him.

"Hey professor, do you have a spare wheelbarrow I can borrow?" Ash requested.

"A wheelbarrow? Sure, I have one you can borrow for awhile…" Professor Oak said.

'Yes!' Ash cheered mentally.

"…Unfortunately, one of the wheels is loose and I can't repair it without a wrench.

Ash fell over in surprise. 'No!' He sighed, having a bad feeling about how this day was going to go. "Do you know where I can find a wrench?"

"Why yes. Tracey should be inside the lab. Go ahead and ask him for one."

"Alright." Ash went inside the laboratory and soon found Tracey. The raven haired Pokémon watcher was sitting in front of a computer, looking at something interesting. "Hey Tracey, whatcha doing?"

Tracey turned and greeted Ash. "Oh nothing. I was just taking a break and checking out this story."

Ash's brow scrunched in confusion. "Story?"

"Yeah. Apparently, some loser in this story is going everywhere, doing all of these errands and request, just to get some girl a Valentine's Day present. I tell ya, that kid got some bad luck." Tracey laughed.

'Why does that sound so familiar…?' Ash shook off the thought. He had more pressing matters. "Hey Tracey, do you have a wrench I can get?"

"Sure. Lemme get it for you." Tracey stood up and left temporarily.

While Tracey was gone, Ash couldn't help but glance at the computer. He noticed something oddly familiar about that story, but couldn't put his finger on it. "Let's see who the loser character is…Satoshi? HA! What a lame name! Man, I wouldn't want to be in his shoes."

Tracey soon came back with the wrench. "Hey Ash, I got some bad news…"

Ash glanced at the wrench and groaned. "Aw man! A rusty wrench?"

"Yeah, sorry. But hey, if you could find some rust solvent, I'll gladly clean it and lend you the wrench."

Was it him, or was there some pattern going on? "Alright, where can I find a solvent?"

"Last time I remember, Gary had it. I think he's at his house right now, so if you can…"

"Don't worry. I'll go over and get you some solvent." Ash assured.

"Thanks Ash. See ya!" Tracey waved, looking back at the computer.

As Ash walked to Gary's house, he inhaled deeply, releasing a long sigh. "It's only a few things. No big deal. I'll just visit Gary, and then everything will be alright." He reassured himself. Five minutes later, he approached the front of Gary's house and knocked on the door. Moments later, the reddish brown haired soon-to-be professor answered the door.

"What's up Ash?" Gary greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Gary, would you happen to have any rust solvent on ya?"

"Um…yeah, but I kinda broke the special scalpel that you need to use it."

'Perfect. Just perfect…' Ash thought despairingly. "Where can I get the scalpel?"

"Let's see…there should be a place in Viridian that sells the scalpel…"

"VIRIDIAN?" Ash cried in surprise.

"Yeah. I was planning to go there a minute ago, but if you can get it, that'll be great."

"Oh fine…" Ash left Gary's house and headed for Viridian. It took 30 minutes of walking before Ash reached the utility shop. There, he saw the shop keep and walked up to him. "Excuse me, but do you sell any rust scalpels?" Ash asked, feeling a little desperate.

The old and scruffy looking man scratched his thick, grey beard. "Hmm…I'll be glad to sell ya a few. Unfortunately, we're out of material to make them, sorry."

"Aw man! This is just unreal!" Ash groaned.

"Hey kid, do ya happen to have any Pokéore?" The old man asked.

Ash blinked. "Pokéore?"

"Yeah, it's the stuff I use to make the scalpel. If you could bring me some, I'll make ya some scalpels."

"Pokéore…at what place can I find ore…" Ash came to one possibility of finding the ore and paled considerably. "You've got to be kidding me…" Knowing exactly where to go, Ash's shoulders drooped as he turned around to leave the store. He was about to exit when the old man called out to him.

"Hey kid, it's Valentine's Day, so cheer up." The old man attempted to cheer Ash up.

"Gee, that would help IF that wasn't the problem…" Ash left the store and continued his way to go to Pewter city.

It took Ash 2 hours to reach Pewter city thanks to getting lost in the Viridian forest. There, he met with Brock's father, Flint, who just happened to have a good set of rocks in front of the Pewter city outskirts.

"Hey Flint, do you have any Pokéore on you?" Ash requested, hoping desperately.

"Actually, I have the last few ones remaining, and I'll gladly give you some…for a price…"

Ash was on the verge of crying from frustration. When will this crazy quest end? "What's the price?"

"Hmm…how about a moonstone? I've been trying to get one off Brock, but the stubborn boy wouldn't give me a single one. If you—"

"Yeah, I know. I'll be back with the stone in a little bit. But please, keep a few Pokéore for me!"

"No problem." Flint waved as Ash left for Brock's home. After ringing the doorbell, Brock answered the door moments later.

"Hey Ash. Man, you look beat! What did you do, run in a marathon?" Brock inquired jokingly.

Ash tossed him a glare, showing he meant business. "Look Brock, I REALLY need a moonstone. Think you can help me out, please?"

Brock pondered Ash's request. "A moonstone huh? Well, if it's for you, I guess I could give you one…under one condition."

Ash irritably ran his hand through his air. He was just about at wits end. "And just WHAT is it you want?"

"Well…there's this cute girl who I want to ask out for Valentine's Day, but the only thing I can find out is that she liked cat Pokémon. There's no cat Pokémon around here, and I want to impress her, but I don't know what to do. Think you can find one?" Brock requested.

"Oh yeah, sure. Just leave everything to me…" Ash said nonchalantly. But where on earth would he find a cat Pokémon in time? If anything, was there at least someone he knew who had a… "Oh man, you gotta be kidding me! What were the odds?" Ash cried out. With a VERY long sigh, he left Brock's house, promising to be back soon.

Outside, Ash stood in an open field and glanced around. When he found the coast was clear, he held his hands over his mouth to create a microphone effect. "PIKACHU FOR SALE! PIKACHU FOR SALE!" He yelled loudly. A second barely passed when a series of furious stampeding could be heard from the distance, signaling the arrival of three very familiar guests.

"Did someone say Pikachu for sale?" Jessie, James and Meowth asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, it was me." Ash said.

"Oh? So you're finally selling your Pikachu?" Jessie inquired excitedly.

"Nope. Just wanted to get your undivided attention."

"Well that wasn't very nice," James said, "What does a twerp like you want from us?"

"Look, I need a favor from you guys. I need to borrow Meowth for just a short awhile…"

"What?" Team Rocket exclaimed. The three turned to each other and nodded. "Group meeting!" They stepped back a few meters and huddled, trying to come to a decision. After a minute, they broke the huddle and went back to Ash.

"How about this? We'll let you borrow Meowth…and—"

"No, I'm not going to give you Pikachu." Ash said flatly. Jessie snapped her fingers in disappointment. "Look, is there something else besides Pokémon you want? I've got about a million different errands to run anyway, so I might as well be consistent." The three rockets glanced at each other and ran back to huddle again. A few more minutes later, Team Rocket came back to Ash, smiling widely.

"Alright twerp, we've got two conditions for ya!" Meowth started counting off his paw. "First: We demand that we go at least one day without blasting off!"

"Okay. What's number two?" Ash asked, getting impatient.

"And second…" This was followed by a growl from Meowth's stomach. "…Treat us to Valentine's Day dinner!" Team Rocket shot their fist in the air, cheering.

Ash blinked twice, very surprised. "…That's it? No weird errands or some special task?"

James eyed him questionably. "Why? We're just hungry. Anyway, it Valentine's Day, which means half off chocolate and ice cream!"

"Yes! Let's do it!" Ash was so happy with finally ending his arduous quest he couldn't wait to treat Team Rocket! After spending almost all of his money filing Team Rocket's stomachs, Meowth agreed to be Brock's temporary Pokémon. Brock was ecstatic and happily gave Ash the moonstone, which was then given to Flint. After getting the Pokéore from Flint, Ash made his way to Viridian city and delivered the ore to the Utility shop's owner, who constructed the scalpel and gave it to Ash. Ash then arrived in Pallet town to get the rust solvent and take both the scalpel and solvent to Tracey. Tracey cleaned the wrench, which allowed Ash to give the item to Professor Oak, who fixed the wheelbarrow. Ash took the wheelbarrow to the woman in charge of the greenhouse and received the flower seeds, FINALLY able to give it to his mother and receive the voucher.

"About time! Now I can finally get that present!" Ash had to hurry since time was running out. As he traveled past Viridian city, he managed to find a bus leading to Cerulean and took it. The entire trip from Pallet to Cerulean took over 3 hours, coming close to sunset. The voucher was made for a specific jewelry store in Cerulean and Ash visited the store. There he saw a plethora of beautiful rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and many other kinds of jewelry. Though all of the items were gorgeous, none of them managed to catch Ash's eye. At least until he noticed one in particular, a gold, thin chained necklace with a tear shaped emerald hanging down the middle. He pictured Misty wearing the necklace and found it perfect for her.

"Excuse ma'am, but I would like to purchase this necklace." Ash gave the woman on the counter his voucher. The clerk glanced over the voucher and raised an eyebrow.

'This…this expired a few days ago…' She looked up at the boy and was about to tell him the bad news when she saw how dirty and tired he looked. It looked like he traveled halfway around the world just to get here. "Sir? May I ask who this is for?"

"This is for a great friend of mine. I still can't believe I'm going through all of this trouble for her, but I guess it's for a good cause. Anyway, she deserves it and…oops, I kinda rambled there. Sorry." Ash apologized sheepishly.

The cashier glanced back and forth between Ash and the voucher. "…Alright, here's your necklace and thanks for coming." She gave Ash the golden necklace.

"Awesome! Thanks a lot!" Ash was on the verge of skipping in happiness. Finally, his luck was shinning through! Ash wished the woman a happy Valentine's Day as he ran out of the store.

"Happy Valentine's Day…" The lady said, sighing wistfully. If only she was several years younger…

Ash walked towards the Cerulean gym, whistling a happy tune. Just when he was about to knock on the door, he heard someone sniffing close by. Curious, he walked around the corner to find a young boy crouching against the gym, hugging his knees and sobbing. Ash knelt next to the boy, concern etched in his face.

"What's the matter?" Ash asked.

The boy sniffled before answering. "I had a great gift for someone, but before I could give it to her, it got broken. I really wanted to get her something, but I don't know what to do…"

"There, there…" Ash placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, trying to soothe him. He really felt bad for the kid. It's never fun to lose an important gift for someone you care about just before you could give it to them. If only there was a way to help… "…Here, take this and give it to your friend…"

The boy gasped when he saw Ash handing him the beautiful necklace. "But…but isn't that for someone special you care about?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, but it wouldn't be fair if you can't have a good Valentine's Day. Now here," He placed the necklace in the boy's hands, "Take this and go. Also, wish your friend a great Valentine's Day."

The boy dried his tears and smiled gratefully at Ash. "Thanks mister!" He stood up and started running. "I'll never forget you…!"

Ash got off the ground and sighed heavily. All of that trouble to get Misty a good present, just to give it to some kid because he felt sorry for him. "Oh well, at least I made someone's day. Let me at least say hello to Misty."

"Hi Ash!" A voice suddenly greeted from behind.

Ash turned around and stumbled back in shock, clutching his chest. "M-M-Misty! What are you doing here?"

Misty pointed to the building next to her. "Uh…I live here."

"Oh…right. Um, how long were you standing behind me?" Ash asked fearfully.

"Long enough." Misty took a step forward, making Ash step back. "You bought a gift for me, waiting until almost the last minute, just to give it to some random kid in trouble." She took another step forward. "And you're all messy to boot! You know what I got to say about that?"

'Uh oh, I'm gonna get nailed…' Ash closed his eyes, hoping the wrath of Misty's mallet would be swift.

"Ash Ketchum…" Misty stepped up to Ash's face and…embraced him. "That was incredibly sweet of you…"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to…say what?" Ash blinked, stupefied.

"I'll admit, at first I wasn't expecting you to go through so much trouble and just give that little kid the present you were going to give me. But, I should've known a great guy like you would do something so dumb, yet sweet." Misty placed a soft peck on Ash's cheek, making him blush considerably.

'I suppose I will take that as a compliment…' Ash figured. Misty started leading Ash to her home by the hand.

"Now let's go. It wouldn't be fair to let my valentine to go without a gift from me. How does donuts and chocolate sound?"

Ash smiled widely. "Sounds good to me!" He couldn't stop grinning as he was lead to the impeding buffet. Though the end result was better than he expected, today turned out to be one long day.

* * *

I hope this makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Oh, and Soft Flame Matthias, I would like to enter this one shot in your BA awards for one shots if you consider doing so. 

Also, I know that it probably takes awhile longer to get from one city to another, but hey, this is a fiction. I can dream, can I?


	4. The mind of a hero

Here's another cute one-shot for you guys! I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

I never saw it coming. My mother warned me about it. My best friends told me what would happen. All of the signs were placed in plain sight. 

Yet I ignored them all.

As I walked along the edge of some unnamed mountain trail, I asked myself the same question I've continuously asked myself ever since I realized it.

Why me, why her, and why love?

When did my thoughts drastically change from Pokémon training to love training? Since when was my next primary goal not the next gym battle, but the next opportune time to get her to smile? How was it everything got so complicated without me noticing?

Also, when did I ever ask myself this many questions, or cared to for that manner?

Looking over my shoulder and past my yellow Pokémon partner, I stole a glance from the girl in question. Misty. That name suited her perfectly. She was a mist that slowly crept upon me, and before I knew it, I was lost in a land known as love.

Lost and without a chance to escape.

But, unlike most mist, this one in particular was comforting and warm. It took away from the loneliness since it was always there, and unlike the ones that made you lost, this mist had actually kept me on a path that would eventually lead me to greatness.

Was that what love really was, or did I lose my mind like the poets in those ancient textbooks?

Either way, if that's what love really was, then maybe…just maybe…it would be something I am willing to chase after. The dream that was the loving mist, Misty Waterflower.

And it's more fun to think of it that way.

As I gazed at Misty's heartwarming complexion, I found myself lost in a trance, as unbreakable as my spirit. Noticing the beauty that was Misty, I couldn't help but question myself again.

How come I never noticed this before?

And as I looked forward, I couldn't help but ask myself another important question.

Shouldn't I be paying more attention to where I was walking?

"AAAAAAAAH!" Ash cried as he plummeted down the mountain.

* * *

The sea. An endless splendor of beautiful blue, filled with mysteries man has yet to discover. Unpredictable, tumbling, beautiful waves. As I stood on the edge of land, my ruby eyes was transfixed on the sunset before more, my mind wondering endlessly. I remembered not liking the sea years ago, solely because it was dauntingly endless and filled with dangers. But…I've reconsidered those old thoughts with those of the new, one of more revelation, more experience, and possibly…more intrigue. 

I brushed my snowy locks away from my face as it flailed in the wind. Looking up at the sky, forever pondering.

Love. Something so infinite, and yet so welcoming and blissful. So many paths, and yet so many more questions. Unquenchable, insatiable, glorious love. Closing my eyes and releasing a sigh, I question to myself how something so great could also be so evil in its own strange way. I almost laughed at how I used to think love was nothing but sappy nonsense made up by poets with nothing better to do. However…I've learn to cope with its odd ways of working and started to understand what it meant to be in love.

Glancing at the sea again, I thank myself for falling in love every time I glance at the one closest to my heart and soul.

May. A person so uncanny yet lovely. So filled with complexities, yet always bubbling with happiness. Unstoppable, unbelievable, heavenly angel. Grasping the silver locket attached to my platinum necklace, I relished the thought of how this piece of metal with a picture of the loved one in question was the same person who trusted me to have it. To think I used to consider her as some nobody with no means of dignity or grace whatsoever. Now…I'm sure this was the one person, the only person, I planed on giving my affections and heart to over, and over, and over again.

And to think it all ties together. It's funny how open your mind is when love opens its door to you. I shall thank May for that.

"SURPRISE!" May yelled, slapping Brendan's back.

"YIPE!" Brendan jumped out of his skin. Due to the surprise attack, he momentarily lost his balance at the edge of the cliff.

Which was all that was required for him to fall off.

"DAAAAMMMMMMIIIITTT MAAAAAAAAAAA—"

_SPLASH!_

* * *

A romantic. An artist. A trainer. A thief. I am, and have been, many things in my life. 

But I've never considered being in love to be one of them.

Until recently.

A team of three. Just the cat, the girl of my dreams, and me. We've traveled, plundered, been through strife and defeat.

Yet my heart has suffered more damage than our reputation.

Jessie…Jessie…why doesn't your heart accept mine? Maybe I'm not being honest with myself openly. There are times I gain the courage to take the plunge and spill my heart out to her. But…just one look at that face…those sapphire eyes…perfectly shaped face…and I'm completely mesmerized.

Because of this, I am both a coward and someone too in love to keep a train of thought.

It seemed to put her in good spirits whenever I played dress up for her, so I did. Acting a fool always made her smile, I had no qualms with that. I've changed myself completely just for her. Hasn't she noticed I'm doing everything for her?

No, perhaps not.

Mere metal with a golden coat captures her attention faster than I ever could.

Is my situation really so hopeless?

As I dug a trench while awaiting the twerps' arrival, I constantly stole glances at the center of my hopes and dreams.

If only I could be recognized by her…

If I could just get a little closer to her…

If I had just one chance of letting her know how I feel about her…

………and if I had realized I had dug myself into an underground river sooner…

_SPLASH!_

"ARG!" James struggled as he was being swept away by the tide of the river.

And sadly, no one noticed…nor cared.

* * *

Night time arrived as three men arrived at a three-way fork in the road, each of them injured, battered, and exhausted. Brendan and James were drenched in water while Ash was covered with cuts, bruises, and dirt. 

As they met at the center, they took a good look at each other and released a heavy sigh.

"…You too, huh?"

* * *

And that's the end of the one-shot. I decided to go with something a little romantic, and hopefully in character. Tell me how you like it, and also if I should do one for the girls. 


	5. Competition

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon. If I did, most people will still be watching it. (Burn!)

This is a challenge fiction inspired by the "In your shoes" Forum owned by sykilik101. I know this will go for a good cause, and show that pairings of all types should be treated equally rather than chastised just because it doesn't suit someone's taste. Let this fiction be an example that all pairings and Pokémon fans alike should join together and enjoy their love of Pokémon rather than fight each other. I mean, its romance for crying out loud! It screams love, just like we should do for each other! Keep this in mind while reading this, and thank you for your time.

Warning: Yaoi content. Beware thine eyes!

* * *

A down trodden Ash walked the streets with slumped shoulders and a sour expression. Through the busy streets of Celadon, he continued to grimace over what happened yesterday. Thanks to Misty, he was only a few blocks away from a nightmare. Stupid Misty and her games. Stupid bet she came up with. And worse of all… 

Stupid Ash for actually accepting the bet…and losing…

'Of all the bets…why did Misty have to choose THAT one…? I would be better off doing our morning chores for the rest of my life than THIS! Stupid, stupid me…' Ash chided himself. Earlier, his friends Misty and Brock wanted to pass time by playing a game. Given it was all in good fun at first, Ash was up for it. But as time progress, competition was getting the best of him. It was soon that his fate was sealed…

_Inside one of the Pokémon Center's many rooms, two gym leaders and a hot headed trainer was in a battle of epic proportions. As the titans clashed in a free-for-all battle, the intensity of the battle grew to an exciting climax. It was the game of the gods, the fight of the century, and one of the few best creations bestowed upon teenagers…_

_And playing Super Smash Bros. Melee on the big screen was just plain awesome._

"_Haha! Pikachu rocks!" Ash exclaimed, using the signature Pikachu as his battling character._

"_Don't inflate your ego yet, Ketchum! You're not getting past my Zelda without a fight!" Misty challenged, filled with battle adrenaline._

"_The doctor is in!" Brock yelled excitedly, using Dr. Mario as his character._

_POW!_

"_The doctor is out!" Misty joked, giggling at Dr. Mario's demise._

"_Aw man, that was my last life too! I'm out." Brock conceded, dropping the controller. _

"_It's just me and you Misty!" Ash said, dramatically shifting his body left and right._

"_It'll soon be just me mister Pokémon master!" Misty followed Ash's example and started shifting with the ever changing tide of battle._

_Soon, it boiled down to just one life for each character, health values exceeding the point where one hit would decide the victor. Ash, competition getting the best of him, grinned excitedly. "Hey Misty, I'll bet you can't be me! You're going down!"_

"_Is that right?" Misty asked with a hint of mischievousness in her voice. "How about this: If one of us wins, the loser has to do one thing the winner asks of him or her. No ifs, ands or buts."_

"_Deal!" Ash said without a second thought. It was with good timing too as Misty's character jumped right above his Pikachu. "Let's see how you like this!" Pressing the combination on the joystick, a thundercloud was created right above the two characters, preparing to zap the princess._

_Misty's grin grew wide as she simply pressed one button. She only said two words as the thunderbolt was about to strike her character. "Nayru's love..."_

_And thus, Ash's controller dropped, along with his jaw._

"I swear, Nintendo made Zelda far too powerful…stupid reflecting shield…" Ash spat in disgust. He swallowed hard as he approached a table with someone around his age sitting at the table. The person in question looked up at Ash and waved nonchalantly.

"What took you so long, Ashy boy?" Gary asked teasingly.

The depressing air around Ash intensified greatly. Of all the bets it could've been…

Why did it have to be a date with Gary Oak?

Seriously, that was the last time Ash would let Misty read those strange stories on that fan fiction website.

"Hey Gary…" Ash waved lazily, almost in a zombie-like manner. The phone conversation between them couldn't have been any worse

"_Hello? Gary?" Ash asked, speaking into the phone receiver. Misty was giggling madly in the background while Brock had a shocked expression on his face. To say Ash was embarrassed would be a dramatic understatement._

"_Ash? I haven't heard from you for a good while. What's with the random call? Need advice on taming your girlfriend or something?"_

_Ash coiled his fist in fury, but chose to be calm…sort of… "No. Actually, I wanted to ask you something."_

"_Alright, shoot."_

_Taking a very deep breath, Ash decided to be frank and not beat around the bush. "Do you want to go out with me tomorrow?"_

_There was a very long pause. Gary's voice was very disbelieving. "Ash…? You do realize you're asking me, a guy, your old rival, out on a date, right?"_

"_Yes…"_

_Another pause followed. "…Ash, I've known you for years, but I've never thought of you as a druggy. Somber up and get off the stuff!"_

"_I'm not high!" Ash yelled into the receiver._

"…_Are you drunk then? If your mom found out…"_

"_No, I'm not drunk either!"_

"…_Is this some kind of sick prank, because I'll still hold it against you."_

"_This isn't a prank. Look, will you go out on a date with me or not?" Mentally, Ash was chanting the same answer over and over. 'Please say no. Please say no. Please, for the love of Ho-oh, say no.'_

_There was a grunt of thought from the other line. Ash was surprised Gary was even considering it. Gary was obviously thinking up of a clever insult or something, especially since there was no way—"Sure. Meet me at the coffee shop tomorrow at noon. Don't be late." And then Gary hung up._

_Reasonably, it took Misty and Brock over an hour to help Ash get over his shock._

"Fix yourself up. You look pathetic." Gary suggested calmly, drinking his tea.

"Gee, thanks." Ash grumbled, sitting in his seat.

"So Ash, what's with the uncharacteristic call? It's not everyday one rival asks another out on a date." Gary raised his eyebrow at Ash, truly interested in what provoked the young teen.

Ash was about to tell him that it was all because of a bet, but that would be really shallow. Besides, it would give Gary too much firepower for insults. "I…no real reason. I just wanted to—"

"It was a bet, wasn't it?" Gary pointed out.

…Curse Gary and his clever perception skills. Ash sighed. "…Yeah. Sorry for dragging you out just because of a stupid bet…"

"Don't worry about it. It's not like I had anything real important to do. Besides, I know you. I know the fact you would not have come here unless it was a bet you foolishly accepted. You always had a bad streak of competition in you."

"Too true…" Ash mumbled lowly to himself. "But anyway, how goes your research?"

Gary picked up a menu in front of him and glanced at the contents. "It's going pretty good actually. Nothing too ground breaking yet, but there's been some interesting new info I've been gathering here and there. My grandpa has also been helping out." He answered, not looking away from the menu.

"That's good. I've been doing really well too."

"Huh. Is that so?" Gary answered, looking just above the menu. "Have you won any competitions?"

Ash faltered. "Uh...no?"

"Hmph, then you haven't been doing well."

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?" Ash retorted fiercely.

"It means you suck. Plain and simple."

'Grr….that Gary…!' Ash thought heatedly. Some nerve! "And what competitions have YOU won, huh?"

There was a delay before Gary's response as he finished up his drink. "There was a small tournament in Orre that I participated. I got first place."

"I'll bet it there were some easy opponents if you managed to beat them." Ash sneered, trying to 1 up his old rival.

"Actually, there was some guy name Wes. He got second place. I only just managed to beat him. Also, being that he single handedly crushed a major crime organization, that gives him much credibility. How about your opponents? Were they anything special?"

"Of course they were! I didn't face any pushovers either."

"I suppose, but you still lost. Don't worry, you'll do better next time. Maybe you might even reach top four before losing."

"Why you…!"

"Hello, may I take your order?" A waitress asked, interrupting the one sided quarrel.

Ash perked up. Anything involving food was definitely a big plus. "Sure, I would like—"

"We'll have the chocolate sundae special." Gary cut in smoothly. Ash opened his mouth to say something, "Also, put sprinkles on one of them." …Only to close his mouth and grumble.

"Sure, coming right up." The lady quickly left to prepare the order.

Gary stole a glance at Ash, who was visibly fuming at him. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want to order something?" He asked, faking innocence.

"No need. What you ordered was fine." Ash growled. His frustration was soon replaced with curiosity. "Wait a sec, you still remembered my favorite treat?"

"Of course. There are some things you don't forget."

Ash sat back and crossed his arms, giving Gary a fixed gaze. "Is that so? So tell me, what are some of these things that you don't forget about me?"

"Just stuff. For example, all of those times I've defeated you in Pokémon battles and the times I've made a fool out of you."

'Oh sure, remember only the times where you shamed me…' Ash narrowed his eyes.

"But…there are also the times where we would be best of friends and actually enjoyed ourselves. If you remember, though we were rivals, we actually had some fun whenever we would play our old games and compete on who would be better. Looking back, I wouldn't give up the times we had for anything. It made us who we are now, and I think we turned out pretty good. Don't you?"

Ash looked upward in reminisce. A smile was brought to his face. "…Yeah, I guess so."

"Here you go, two chocolate sundaes and one with sprinkles." The waitress said, placing the chocolate treat on the table.

"Ah, thank you." Gary replied. He was about to eat when he saw Ash devouring his sundae like no tomorrow.

"You better not eat too quickly, Ash. You might get a—"

"Agh…!" Ash gripped his head as he winced in agony.

"…brain freeze…" Gary sighed. He should've expected this. After all, Ash was still Ash.

The two continued to eat until they were finished with their treats. Afterwards, Gary stood up from his seat. "Hey, let's go somewhere."

"Hm?" Ash looked up with chocolate-coated stains on his face.

"Geez…" Gary groaned, picking up a napkin and holding Ash's chin. In one smooth stroke, he cleaned off the stain.

"What the heck!?" Ash jumped from his seat, stepping back in surprise.

"See for yourself." Gary showed the brown stain on the napkin to Ash. "For crying out loud, learn to start taking care of yourself more." He started walking ahead towards the next destination, Ash following.

"What do you mean by that? I can take care of myself just fine!" Ash argued.

"Is that so? Tell me, when was the last time you traveled by yourself?"

"Uh…" Ash had to think about that one for a moment, given it was sometime ago. "It was during the Hoenn League."

"For how long?"

"Err…a few days…or one day…same difference." Ash laughed nervously.

"Do you cook your own food?"

"No. Not since the incident."

Gary sweat-dropped. Perhaps it was best not to ask. "At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you have other people raise your Pokémon for you."

"Hey! I take care of my own Pokémon! Take that back!" Ash bellowed.

Gary ruffled Ash's head, chuckling playfully. "Shimmer down Ash, I was only joking. Even now, you still act like a kid." Quickly, he took the hat off Ash's head and placed it on his own.

"HEY! MY CAP!" Ash gasped, pointing at Gary.

"It's my cap now, Ashy boy!" Gary ran ahead of Ash.

"That does it! GET BACK HERE!" The young trainer started chasing Gary down the street at a blinding pace. It really showed how much he wanted his hat back.

'_Heh, Ash must be way behind me by now.'_ Gary thought. As soon as he glanced behind, he saw a heated Ash charging towards him, only a few feet behind. _'When did he get THAT fast!? AH!'_ The russet haired professor paled as the young trainer pounced on him like a rabid Pokémon.

_CRASH!_

The two teens toppled over each other and fell on the floor. Ash tried to snatch his hat back, but Gary started toying with him by moving the hat just out of reach. "Give...me…that…hat…!" Ash growled, trying to reach the last inch.

"Reach for the sky, Ashy boy!" Gary joked, keeping Ash from getting it.

"Excuse me, but I'm going to have to ask you to stand up stop frolicking with each other. You're scaring away our customers." A restaurant owner demanded, glaring at the two.

"Wha? Frolicking!?" The two gasped in unison. They immediately stood up and away from each other, Ash making sure to get his hat in the process.

Gary dusted off his clothes and huffed. "We were just leaving." He started walking ahead again.

"Hey, wait up!" Ash cried, catching up. He finally caught up with Gary, who was avoiding eye contact. He was uncharacteristically quiet. "What's wrong?"

Gary sighed. "Back then, we used to always fight like that. It made me feel a little nostalgic."

Ash blinked. "You're feeling sick?"

A twitch appeared on Gary's forehead, showing irritation. "Nostalgia is not a sickness. I meant I started missing the old times."

"Oh." Ash said simply, slightly surprised. He didn't think Gary was the type of person to go nostalgic. "You really do miss the old days, huh?"

"Yeah. Especially since you're my only real friend…" Gary mumbled to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Let's head to the park."

"Sure."

A little after ten minutes, Ash and Gary arrived at the park. The Celadon Park had a calm atmosphere, the trees and foliage swaying in the breeze. Ash loved traveling in these types of conditions, always putting him at ease. He stretched his arms and exhaled in relief. "Ah, this is great! Nothing like a walk in the park!"

"I agree." Gary shoved his hands into his pockets, staring at the road ahead. "Hey, remember when we used to race back home to see who was faster?"

"Yeah. Good times." Ash smiled.

Gary nodded at the thought. "Don't forget how I always beat you."

Ash's smile dropped. "Hey, wait a minute. You never beat me in a race! I remember clearly!"

"Could've fooled me." Gary retorted.

"Grr…! That's it! I'll race you to the end of the…HEY!" Ash cried, seeing how Gary sprinted ahead of him. "That's no fair!" He dashed to catch up with the young professor-in-training.

During the entire race, the two were neck-in-neck as they neared the goal. The competition was fierce and it was anyone's game. Once they reached the exit of the park, they both took a leap towards gate, landing with a skid. There was a pause as they the two took a moment to recover their stamina. They glanced at each other at the corner of their eye, a smirk on both of their faces.

"It's…a tie…" Gary panted. A few moments of silence passed between them before they started chuckling, soon bursting into fits of laughter.

"This is so stupid…but it's so much fun too!" Ash laughed.

"Definitely! Let's do this again sometime!" Gary said, trying to contain his laughter. He stood up and wiped the sweat off his brow. "Phew. I think it's time I head back."

"Okay, I'll see you later then!" Ash waved goodbye as he started heading back.

"Hey, wait a minute! What do you think you're doing?" Gary snapped in annoyance. Ash blinked at Gary, confused. "This is a date, remember? You're supposed to walk me home."

"Really? Oh…" Ash didn't really know what to say. He had forgotten it was a date in the first place. "Okay, sure. I'll drop you at your place first."

"Sure. Let's go." Gary motioned Ash to follow him home.

The two walked in silence, thinking over their day. Though it was a date with a guy, Ash didn't feel uncomfortable or strange. To him, it was as though he was hanging out with his best friend, which in Ash's case, Gary was his best friend. Gary had talked about their old times often during the date, which reminded the cap wearing trainer of a question he had been pondering.

"Gary?"

"Yes?"

"What made you think of the past so much? I mean, I've never thought of you as the type to start talking about the good times."

Gary's gaze lowered on the road ahead, his eyes having a gentle gaze. "Sometimes, when you grow older, you start to realize how precious your childhood and life is. Things that you did before, you discover how much they really meant to you and how significant they were. But also, it's as that old saying went: Distance makes the heart grow fonder." He looked at Ash, a small smile on his face. "I never knew how true that was until now."

"Huh. That's an interesting thought." Ash said. They said nothing more until they reached in front of the hotel Gary was staying at. After crossing the lobby and a few floors, the two arrived in front of Gary's room.

"I'll take it from here. I had a good time, so thanks."

"Yeah, I had a good time too. Alright, see ya." Ash turned around to leave when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Hold it."

Ash groaned. "What is it this tim—mmph!" He was stunned beyond belief when a pair of lips was pressed on his. The shock paralyzed Ash for only a few moments, but he didn't budge until their lips parted. "You…you…you just…k..k..ki…!" The boy couldn't even get the words out to express his surprise.

"It's what you're supposed to do at the end of a date. I'm only fulfilling the role that YOU were supposed to play. That's all. Anyway, have a good night." Gary waved haphazardly as he went inside his room, leaving Ash completely stupefied. Ash left for his apartment, his face still contorted in shock.

As Ash left the hotel, Gary lay on large mattress in his room. His gaze was set on the ceiling above, smiling at the bold act he had just committed. "Maybe it was a little overkill, but in the end…at least I've made another memory to hold onto…"

Back at the Pokémon Center, Misty and Brock were chatting amongst each other when they heard the door open. "Hey Ash, did you enjoy your _date_?" Misty emphasized jokingly. She was surprised when they saw Ash go to the phone and make a call. They didn't know what he talked about, but he had a frustrated look on his face after hanging up. "Who did you call just now?"

"That was Gary." Ash answered. Suddenly, his eyes were emblazoned with flames of competitive spirit as he clenched his fist. "It's not over yet! Though he's beaten me today, I'm not going to stop until I'M the one who shows him up! I'll be the one to finish the date with a kiss, not him! I will win next time!"

Safe to say, Brock and Misty were surprised. The fact they fainted was proof of that.

* * *

And that's the end of my little one-shot. Surprisingly, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be (except the end. That was even WORSE than what I had imagined.) Hopefully, it didn't seem too cheesy or anything. It was my first attempt at a yaoi fic, and hopefully my last. Please review and leave me your thoughts! 


	6. Comment corner volume 1: Final Destiny

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, the comments, or hints pertaining to certain companies and merchandise. Pure and simple.

Claimer: I own the story this is based on.

This fic will speak for itself.

* * *

"Hello everyone, and welcome to Team Nova's Comment Corner! CP is about to go on holiday for a few weeks, which equals more waiting. Knowing how good you guys have been to us, he decided to keep you a little entertained by having some of us respond to your reviews. The host for today will be everyone's favorite duo, me, Wes, and my brother Brendan!" 

Brendan, standing next to Wes, had his arms folded and his eyebrow twitching. "Yeah, isn't that just _thrilling_…" He spoke in monotone.

"Don't make such a fuss! This will be fun! Besides, I'm sure the readers will like to hear what we got to say! You remember how it works, right?"

"Yeah. We basically pick a random review from each chapter and answer to it. Given we have a _staggering_ 13 chapters; we'll just split it between us. Sounds fair?"

"Me first, me first!" Wes raised his hand high, hoping to get called on.

"Wes, this isn't school. Put your hand down and go ahead." Brendan sighed.

"Okay, so let's check out the first comment!" Wes leafed through a list of comments on an index card until he found one he liked.

_Yeah, that was nice, funny too. But what was disapointed me was Ash. He was in the same bed with Misty for goodness sake! Alone, in the room! In the whole house in fact! Do something, man!_

_But except for that, the story's great. Gonna check out the rest of the chapters._

_Keep it Sick._

_-Sickly_

Wes nodded with a smirk on his face. "Sure thing Sickly, we plan to keep it sick. Also, I gotta agree, Ash should've done SOMETHING! Seriously, if that was me, there would've been enough fan service for guys everywhere."

"…As well as an arrest record for you…" Brendan mumbled.

"Hey, I'm just being realistic!"

"Right, sure, the most naïve teenager in existence just so happens to want to do his best friend while she was sleeping. Yeah, _very_ realistic."

Wes shrugged nonchalantly. "Nonetheless, it could be said that Ash needs more lessons from Brock. Speaking of which, I really need to get in touch with that Pikachu of his…"

Brendan decided not to question Wes's thoughts and continue. "Alright, let's keep going."

_Wow, that was . . . intense. Really reminded me of a video-game . . . I get the feeling that you based it on one. Was it "Splinter Cell"? I loved the part where the spy stops the Rockets from attacking until she can change her music. So anyway, the battle sequence with the giant robot was really good. Just like a boss battle, especially the part where the armor drops off and it gets quicker and stronger. May was my first guess for the spy, but then I thought "Nah!" I can't wait to hear the explanation for that one. I sense that there's gonna be a little love triangle. But I'll save the rest for later._

_- Hakajin_

"As if Chaos Paladin hasn't ripped off enough stuff, even Splinter Cell joins the fray. Oh well, I guess I can't complain. I just find it strange how weird that girl May is. I mean, listening to music while sneaking and fighting? Wouldn't that cause distractions?"

"Um, Brother? You do realize that there's music in just about every single battle, right?"

"Good point. Anyway Hakajin, I can see what you mean by a love triangle, except the fact that Ash is quite clueless."

"Well hey, if it were me, I would've—"

"If that sentence has the chance of mentally scarring young minds, shut up." Brendan demanded.

"Err…yeah…alright, moving on!" Wes said quickly, reading the next comment.

_So...now we have TWO super-secret anti-crime teams?! Whoa.  
And they do not like each other, it seems.  
And Rui's got a giant robot and way too much sugar..._

_Ri2_

"Hmm…yeah. I think Rui had a bit too many soda pops before suiting up for battle. No wonder she was bouncing around like a lunatic…"

Brendan released a heavy sigh. "Wes…you've got to learn how to control what she eats. Do you remember the LAST time she was energetic?"

Wes winced at the thought. "Ooh…yeah…well, look on the bright side! We have a new HQ now!" He laughed off.

Brendan exhaled another sigh. "Next comment please."

_i like it please update soon and do pokemon/gundam wing crossover whith ash misty brock max may and please update soon_

_sonic 1_

Brendan sweat-dropped fiercely. "People are actually encouraging Chaos Paladin to rip off more than he already has? That's like giving 4kids more anime to desecrate horribly!"

"Man, good thing we weren't in the anime. I can picture myself dancing like a ballerina while shooting a water gun at some huge teddy bear…" Wes shuddered. He shook his head to get rid of the dark thoughts. "Let's go with the next comment before I fall into depression."

_Wahoo! I finally get to read the next chapter of this story! xD Poor Ash getting punched by Satoshi. Oh now Misty has a spirit who's next? Brock? When I first read the title of the story I thought it was going to be a Final Fantasy story; I missed the destiny part._

_Sounds like Inuyasha all over again. xD Though with spirits and..other stuff. ; _

_Hope you update soon, more humor!_

_- Yomi Kobito_

Wes blinked several times before responding. "…What the hell does XD mean?"

"Besides being a major spin off of Pokémon Coliseum, it's supposed to display some sort of expression. I think it's…it looks like how someone looks when they cry after getting punched in the face. And what's this, Final Fantasy? Inuyasha? When will Chaos Paladin's reign of piracy end!?" Brendan shouted in frustration.

"I wouldn't count him off too much. I mean, doesn't America do the same thing?"

Brendan thought about it for a moment. "…Yeah. At least Chaos isn't degrading it by butchering what hard work the Japanese did for the community. And what credit does America give Japan?"

"The movie Pearl Harbor and a load of dishonor?"

"Precisely. Okay, let's go with the next comment before some secret agents gun us down for talking about America."

_8-bit Theatre references, RPG fights, AND some-yet-to-be-seen character named Zero? Why the heck does this sound like something "I" would write:P_

_Yeah, leaning on that fourth wall wasn't really pleasing, but it was still a good chapter. Hopefully the others won't be as... well... wall leaning._

_leans on the fourth wall, which tips over and smashes into pieces_

_...now you what you made me do. :P_

_Maverick hunter Cyros_

"Yes, Cyros, leaning on the fourth wall is a bit of a stretch. Hopefully, this won't be a continuous practice."

"Hey, I've leaned on a fourth wall before, and it wasn't that bad! I mean, once you use the X-ray goggles, you can see some sweet stuff!"

Brendan tossed a flat glare at his supposed brother. "Wes…peeking into a woman's bathroom is not only illegal, but not what a fourth wall is. And where does the fourth come in?"

"Team Nova HQ has four women's bathrooms hooked up throughout the building!"

"Wes…please, just continue." Brendan groaned. Wes was just a hand full.

_Yay! That was a funny chapter! I laughed lots! Boss Man was funny, especially with Misty. I like his name, lol. Wes calling Brendan his brother all the time was funny too, and I loved the part with Brock and Rui, and Wes getting jealous. Seems like I've heard that line about staying friends before from Brock. Hmm . . ._

_Anyway, the part about Brendan and his clothes machine was good too. I liked Ash's reaction. Satoshi's lines were good too there. And Misty getting jealous. But what does concave mean? Nevermind, I probably don't wanna know. Oh, and Ash not getting the joke about the answering machine was funny too._

_Cute moment between Ash and Misty! You know I love that stuff! Cool part with Ash doing a syncronization with Satoshi. Hope to see the same with Misty and Kasumi. Loved the part with Team Rocket. Kasumi kinda scares me . . . "I could do better in my sleep,"? Lol. Rui was hilarious with her mech. Lazer tag . . ._

_So anyway, I love your characterizations. Not just with Ash and Misty and the others, though you've stayed pretty well in character with them. I like the personalities you've given Wes, Brendan, and Rui especially. They're really . . . lively! Well, 'til next time!_

_Hakajin_

Wes had a grim look on his face as he stared long and hard at Brendan. "Brother…do you have something you would like to share with me?"

Brendan sweat-dropped at the look he was getting. He just KNEW this was coming. "It wasn't meant to happen like that!"

"Just as I feared…your lack of perversion is turning you into some kind of yaoi fan!" Wes held onto Brendan's shoulders, shaking him. "You need emergency treatment! Quick, to the hentai store! We'll need some strong material for this rescue mission!"

"WES! FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, I'M NOT GAY!" Brendan yelled, breaking Wes's hold. "Listen, I was not trying to make Ash strip for perverted reasons. This just comes to show how perverted the world is. What scares me most is that I think some people enjoyed that moment…"

"On a bright note, it looks like we got some fans at this point! Finally, true recognition."

"If you call being paired up with you recognition, I suppose so…"

"Bring on the next comment, brother!"

Brendan did so, but not without sighing. "Why me…?"

_That conniving harlot! What happenned to waiting until the situation actually turned to the worst case scenario?! But, then again, you can't intend to kill Ash off, can you? looks left and right and then throws himself to the ground in front of CP  
CAN YOU?!_

_DestinyDeoxys_

"Of course Ash can't be killed off. He's the main character. After all, it's not anime unless there's a lovable idiot in the scene."

"Yeah…I've been wondering about that. You were watching her, weren't you? Why didn't you shoot?"

"It wasn't in the script. Apparently, Chaos thought it would be a funny idea to throw in a random scene to piss off and confuse a lot of people. Much like 4kids, except they throw in random crap rather than scenes."

"Uh-huh…" Wes gave Brendan a sly look. "But tell me this, what did you have your scope on exactly? Working the zoom function of the sniper?" He emphasized.

Brendan coughed, attempting to hide the small blush on his face. "T-that's not important. Please continue the next comment, Wes."

"Right…" Wes drawled, flipping through the index cards.

_pretty cool_

_ffgirlmoonie_

"Sweet! Brother, a chick said I was cool!"

"Don't be so slow. She's obviously talking about the story itself. You are about as far from cool as Brock is in his chances of getting a girlfriend."

"Ouch, low blow man!" Wes cried.

"Anyway, on with the next comment." Brendan announced.

_the story's pretty cool, but you pretty muche ripped every important scene of another movie or game or summat, other than that its all good_

_Gr1ev3r_

"FINALLY! SOMEONE NOTICED!" Brendan exclaimed. "Now, if someone will help me prepare a strike, we can get Chaos to produce material that WASN'T ripped from some sort of game or anime."

"I don't care. As long as I'm badass, I'm good."

Brendan gave him an odd look. "What 'badass' spends his time flirting with random girls and drooling over unholy images on the internet?"

Wes tossed Brendan an equally flat gaze. "It was in YOUR favorites!"

Brendan glared harder. "Which YOU put in after hacking into it!"

"Which, by the way, was never deleted!"

"…touché." Brendan conceded.

"Random reviewer's comment, I choose you!"

_nice ... yeah ... reall liked it ... post soon_

_Tennisdesi91_

"Why thank you…err…tennis? Or is it Desi? Maybe even…91!?" Wes raised an eyebrow, completely confused.

"Sheesh…what an idiot…" Brendan mumbled.

"I wonder why there are so many dots. Is this person being sarcastic or just really tired?"

"Moving on." Brendan said.

_very good story man, like the humour and suspense, brilliant characters and very well written chapters. please take a look at my story, Legends Heroes and Idiots. First Pokemon story but hoping that it isnt the last. keep up the story and any idea of what sort of length is good for a chapter_

_Pjac the fighter_

"Hey Wes, you might want to take a look at this "Legends, heroes and idiots". I think there might be a position there for you."

"Oh really? Like I'm a legendary hero that saves the world?"

"No. More like the legendary idiot that destroys it."

"You confidence in me is inspiring…" Wes shot sarcastically. "Looks like we have time for one last comment, so let's get it on!"

_Sweet chapter dude! It was well worth the wait._

_Lol, i can't believe that you're bringing characters from other anime into this tournament. I couldn't help but laugh when Yugi came into the picture... That poor little shrimp... he wouldn't last on his own for any more than 60 seconds. _

_I can't wait to see more of the tournament, and to find out more about Crisis and Zao... Ja ne_

_Peace,_

_SaiyanLegend_

_SaiyanSatoshiLegend_

"Hmph, poor little shrimp my ass! He made a mockery out of me!" Brendan bellowed. "Not only that, but more plagiarism! That's probably why he never updates, since there's nothing left for him to swindle!"

"Brother, why are you always so irritated? You always seem to have some anger issues or something!"

"If you must know, my life happens to be stressful, you being the main part of my stress."

"More like you need to get laid…" Wes murmured.

"I heard that!" Brendan roared.

"Whoops! Looks like I've made him angry. Oh well, we're out of time anyway, so see you guys next time on: _The legend of Final Destiny_. Look forward to it as my brother gets lucky!" Wes joked, running out of the room.

"Dammit, stop it with the pervert jokes!" Brendan yelled, chasing Wes.

* * *

Yeah, sorry for the months of delay. Be assured that I'm very, very, very close to done with FD. It's just a matter of getting over the writer's block to finish the end. Thank you for all of your support, and I hope to get around and appease you for your assistance. 

Also, if you like this one shot, I MIGHT do one for BL too. Of course, it probably won't be one review for EVERY chapter, given that will take forever.


	7. Frightning Encounter

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. Believe it!

This is a true story, though I was alone at the time.

This is based on the fanfiction "The Legend of Final Destiny"

All I can say is…if I'm lying, I'm dying. The internet is a scary place…

* * *

Brendan Birch, genius inventor and brilliant mastermind, was hard at work on his computer. It was a tough mission on his part, facing trials as tough as the challenges Team Nova threw at him on the daily basis. Typing furiously, Brendan made every effort to keep everything in smooth order, or else chaos would strike, and people would die. It was an epic struggle, and the slightest mistake would mean he would die.

"So brother, did you level up yet?" Wes asked, watching over Brendan's shoulder. Rui happened to be with him as well, peeking curiously at the game characters on the flat screen computer monitor.

"No, not yet. Right now I'm trying to FS this AOER who's tanking a lot of mobs. My buffs last for about 10 minutes, so he should be solid while I keep his HP from dropping like a rock." Brendan explained, clicking rapidly on his wireless mouse.

"…Eh?" Rui was drawing more blanks than she could count.

"In other words, brother is the healing type of character who's helping this one guy gather a bunch of monster and clobbering them all at once. Since he's a healer, he has special power ups that help everyone stay in the fight longer." Wes explained to the poor confused girl.

"Ooh…" Rui nodded, mesmerized by Wes's vast knowledge of the MMORPG world. Cocking her head to the side, she once again held a confused look. "So…is that Brendan over there?" She pointed to the middle of the screen, indicating the character named "L33TGeNiUsFTW".

"Yeah. He's helping that one wizard looking dude named N00BB00B."

"But…Brendan's character is a girl…" Rui pointed out again.

Wes pulled Rui away from Brendan, bringing her close enough o whisper. "You see, Rui, even though brother is kinda uptight and stuff sometimes, deep down there's a really sweet girl trying to escape. What better way than being a hot chick on the internet, where the world can think you're really a girl?"

"I CAN HEAR YOU, YOU KNOW!" Brendan yelled angrily, moments from killing his 'brother'. "If you must know, if I'm going to be staring at the same character avatar for hours straight, I would want to see something appealing and eye catching, not a boring character. Seriously, can't a guy use a girl character without looking like some kind of freak?"

"Normally no, but you're damn convincing. With some makeup and new clothes…"

"SHUT UP OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Brendan growled, glaring at Wes.

_PING!_

"What's that sound?" Rui asked, looking at the screen.

This time, Brendan answered the girl. "Someone's private messaging me. Let's see…N00BB00B says…do you have a boyfriend?"

"…Eh?" Both Rui and Wes blinked in confusion, wondering if Wes's supposed claim was true…

"Don't even think about it, Wes." Brendan warned, agitated with Wes. It was a strange question indeed. Brendan started typing. "No, I don't have a boyfriend." Pressing the enter key, he sent the message. "I am actually a—" Before he could finish typing the reply, his battling partner sent him a message.

"Because I love you."

"Ack….!" A deer being caught in headlights couldn't hold a candle to Brendan's stupefied expression. His body and mind froze, being rendered speechless.

Wes's jaw dropped. "…That…is just wrong…"

Rui sweat-dropped fiercely. Even she knew the implications. "Um, wow…you really are convincing…I guess…"

Still wearing a shocked look on his face, Brendan was about to type when his admirer continued messaging. "Will you be my girlfriend? Please?"

No arctic in the world could've drained the color from his face as fast as this situation did. Very slowly, Brendan clicked on the quit button, logging out of the gaming world. A sense of humiliation, embarrassment, and depression flooded him.

"…Well, I think I will be going now. I got…stuff to do." Struggling to hold a straight face, Wes slowly stepped out of Brendan's dark room. Rui, sensing Brendan's need to be alone, started to step out as well.

But without warning, Wes couldn't hold back any longer.

"PFFT! BWAHAHAHAHA! BRENDAN GOT ASKED OUT BY A MAN NAMED N00BB00B! HAHAHAA!"

"That's it! PREPARE TO DIE!!" Grabbing his nearby saber, Brendan promptly began chasing down his hysterically laughing sibling.

* * *

Fake names were used to protect the innocent, though mine is LONG gone thanks to that incident. 


	8. Unfortunately fortunate

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, but I pwn it.

* * *

'This…has got to be the worst day of my life…' May Maple, a Pokémon Coordinator extraordinaire, was facing death in the face

I shall be taking a break on the bigger fictions for now and work on some one-shots, which I'm sure some of you are hungry for. I hope you enjoy this cute entry.

'_This…has got to be the worst day of my life…'_ May Maple, Pokémon Coordinator extraordinaire, was facing death in the face. Death took the shape of a young man with oddly white hair and ruby eyes filled with impatience and boredom, and wearing a black sweat suit. Her hell was in the form of an ice cream parlor located in Lilycove City.

This foul demon, going by the name of Brendan, held his fork gingerly over his sundae. "You might want to straighten out the look on your face. You look like a scarecrow."

The 'scare' part wasn't too far from the truth, but it was the frustrated glaze that would impart fear of those who stared at it too long. _'Why that rotten little…!' _May quickly stopped that thought, resisting the huge to kill both Brendan and herself. "I hardly look like a scarecrow, though I will admit you look more like a crossbreed between a vampire and a gargoyle ."

"Tch, how rude. You insult the guy that _you_ asked out on a date? Have you any tact whatsoever?"

"Oh yes, how could I ever forget? Remind me to hang myself later for it!" May couldn't have been more fed up with herself. This entire situation started off in the totally wrong direction.

Going back to earlier that day…

Ever since going on her own, she had been on a winning streak in the Hoenn area. It was part of her plan to revisit her past competitions to strengthen her strategy and Pokémon. Unfortunately, her winning streak was ended by an exceedingly skilled Espeon. After the victory ceremony, May took the time to rest in the lobby area. Though she was disappointed, it meant that she had more to learn, which wasn't a bad thing. Seeing the victor passing by, she decided to congratulate him before he left. "Hey Brendan!"

"Hm? Oh, it's you." Brendan noted, only paying a bit of attention.

"I just wanted to say that was a great battle. Your Pokémon were fantastic!"

"Heh, I know." Brendan smoothed his hair back dramatically, rather pleased with himself.

'_Isn't he modest?'_ There was no point in worrying about it. She shrugged it off for now. "I wish you the best in the next tournament, because the next time we battle, I'm going to beat you."

"Pft, like hell."

This knocked May down a couple of notches. "…Eh?"

"You weren't exactly exceptional competition. I've had a tougher battle putting my clothes on today."

There was no way she was going to let that slide. That was just being way too cocky. "Gee, I didn't realize you were so dumb you couldn't put on your on clothes."

"Save the petty comebacks when you actually _beat_ me." Brendan walked off, leaving May completely defeated.

Defeated, and infuriated.

The boy's biting comments struck a nerve in May, surfacing any anger she tried to hold back. "That good for nothing, lowdown, evil, dirty little…PRICK!" She yelled, catching the attention of a few wary bystanders. Embarrassment overcame her anger as she suddenly grew aware of her position.

"And what are you yelling about, May?" A voice called from behind.

"Eep…!" May flinched, recognizing the voice. With a lopsided smile, she glanced at the green haired Pokémon coordinator behind her. "Oh, uh…h-hey Drew! What's up?"

"I was going to congratulate you on getting second place until you start screaming like a banshee."

"Sorry about that. I had a little run-in with a big jerk." May spoke grimly, praying for a harsh fate to befall the white haired menace.

"I see. But in any case, you were really impressive in that last match. I can really tell you've greatly improved yourself over the last year."

Blushing darkly, May nervously twiddled her thumbs. She couldn't look him in the eyes. "Oh, um, t-thanks for the compliment. Y-you were really great too."

"I've could've done better. There's always next time though. But hey, I'm planning to stick around for the next few days. If you're not doing anything, there's a lot of interesting places to see here."

May was simply thunderstruck. "Are…are you…asking me…"

"I gotta get going now, got Pokémon to tend to. See you later." Drew walked towards the exit, leaving the stadium.

May was still in a state of shocked. Drew just asked her out. Admittedly, she was also interested in him. She was planning on inviting him on a date later today, but wasn't sure if Drew was interested. But with this much reassurance, she wasn't going to back down. She was convinced to ask him out later tonight.

Before she left the stadium, she noticed the hint of smirks and giggles in the room. It was only then she noticed something on her ear.

A rose.

'…_Man he's clever.'_ She thought, smiling. She rushed home to try and get ready.

Later that evening, May was waiting in front of the ice cream parlor, famous for their sundaes. She pulled out all the stops for this date, wearing a long, silk dress with thin straps, flat dress shoes and a small gold necklace. She knew heels would be a classier choice, but she could never walk on those without tripping over herself.

Earlier, she got information from the receptionist on the whereabouts of Drew's room and slid her letter underneath the door. Looking at her watch, it was six in the evening, the time of their rendezvous. Her heart kept a vicious beat, nervous about making the date go smoothly. There were so many thoughts and worries crossing her mind. She was a nervous wreck.

"So we meet again, May."

But one look at her date, and all of her emotions and thoughts sank into the very depths of darkness. "…BRENDAN?"

And the rest is history, which brings us back to the lovebirds of hell.

Leaning back casually, Brendan tossed a smug grin at May. "I had to admit, I'm still surprised you've fallen for me so quickly. It usually takes about 5 minutes for it to sink in."

"I'd rather fall for a Muk." May shot icily.

The comment didn't faze the cool headed boy as he waggled his spoon at May. "My, my, aren't we in a foul mood? I'll bet you were hoping to get Drew on a date, but mistakenly slipped the letter in my room."

"How did you know that?" May was sure she didn't speak of Drew once to him, so it would be impossible for him to know.

"I didn't, but thanks for being such a good sport." Brendan winked at May, who gaped in shock.

'_ACK! He tricked me!'_ May wanted to bang her head for falling into such an obvious trap.

"But then again, it was still pretty obvious. That guy is almost as much of a heartthrob as I am, so I don't blame you."

"I hate to interrupt your delusions, but you're not a heartthrob by any means. You're more like a demon that eats small children."

"How pitiful. You go through the trouble of asking me out, and now you're insulting me. Safe money says you're going to kiss this demon by the end of the night."

May shot up in her seat, reaching her boiling point. "Now listen here, you little bi—"

"May? Is that you?" Drew asked, standing right next to their table.

'_Oh crap…!'_ May's brain temporarily froze, almost shouting profanities right next to her person of interest. She quickly sat down, trying to recompose herself. "H-hi Drew. I didn't expect you to be here." Both the coincidence and irony was outstandingly cruel.

"Same here. I didn't know you already had plans with someone, especially a date with Brendan. It's usually impossible to land a date with him due to his high standards."

"Heh, I just happen to have a distinctive taste in women."

"Wha? You two know each other?"

"Brendan and I go quite a ways back. You remember Professor Birch? This is his grandson."

"Meh, it's not that big of a deal." Brendan waved off, finishing off his sundae.

This was quite a blow to May, mainly for how Drew was friends with such a pain in the fanny. Brendan being the grandson of a famous professor was also a surprise. "That's, uh, rather impressive…" She wanted to sound amazed, but at the same time, was disappointed with who she thought would've been a great person.

The irony gets worse and worse every time she discovers something new.

"Well, I should get going. I wouldn't want to interrupt your date."

"Wait, Drew! This isn't—"

"Say Drew, what was your number one turn off when it came to women?" Brendan interrupted, grinning evilly.

"A major turn-off? I'd have to say those who likes to make excuses or lie. Oh, sorry May. What were you about to say?"

May opened her mouth to speak, but caught Brendan's wicked grin. It suddenly clicked as to what he planned.

…That sly bastard.

"Oh, err…nothing…" May sank back into her seat, defeated once again.

"Oh, okay. Enjoy yourselves, thought not too much." Drew sniggered to himself, walking up to the counter to order his ice cream.

Once Drew was out of earshot, May was prepared to chew Brendan's head off. "Why the HELL did you do that?"

Enjoying this almost too much, Brendan shrugged innocently. "Do what? All I asked was a simple question."

"Simple question? You deliberately did that so I wouldn't say anything!"

"Me? No, I'm not _that_ evil. Think about it this way." Brendan leaned forward, his chin resting on his hand. "If I didn't say it, imagine what might've happened. Truth be told, I've saved you."

May had to take a moment to think about it. From the way things looked during that situation, it might've taken a turn for the worse. Besides, there was a certain devil that probably would've made it sound much worse than it was. But there was something to question about Brendan. "Why would you of all people want to save me from embarrassment?"

"Answer this question first: Why didn't you just leave rather than continue the date?"

May leaned back, crossing her arms in irritation. "Even if it's a mistake, I don't like leaving things unfinished. I could just leave, but I'd rather stay and finish this date off than look like a coward. Besides, I really wanted to try the ice cream here."

'_Interesting…'_ Brendan found May a little more intriguing than earlier. "As for your question…I just felt like it."

Brendan was getting beyond annoying. May wanted to break his neck so badly. "That's a dumb answer."

"This coming from the person who placed a love letter under the wrong door. Nice."

May's anger was reaching new heights as a waitress passed by to drop their bill. She was going to end this before she ended up a felon for manslaughter. "Speaking of which, since I've finished my ice cream, I think I'll call this a night. Now if you'll excuse me…" May got up from her seat and was about to put her money on the table when Brendan's hand caught hers, encasing the money in her fingers.

"So, you're going to leave after I've gone so far as to treat you? I didn't know you were THAT kind of person."

Once again, Brendan pulled a trick May didn't see coming: being a gentleman. "You were going to treat me…?"

"You're not the only person to finish what they start. Come on, let's go." After dropping the money on the bill, Brendan walked out of the ice cream parlor.

"Hey, don't just leave me here like that!" May chased after the boy, dashing out the door. She couldn't help but wonder what Brendan meant by that. Curiosity drove her to see what was going through his mind. But once she found out, this little torture ride was through.

While walking, May couldn't help but think about Brendan, as in why he was doing this. Also, when Drew mentioned of his high standards, it was even more obvious that he was continuing this date for a reason. It was killing her to know what it was. "So Brendan, where are you dragging me? Perhaps a monster's den?"

"We're not going to your room if that's what you're wondering."

"What is THAT suppose to mean?"

"You might want to relax a bit. You don't want to get grey hair this early in your life."

"I guess you're speaking from experience."

"Heh, touché."

May thought back to when Drew mentioned about it being impossible to land a date with Brendan, though she couldn't imagine anyone being interested in that jerk. "So Brendan…why me?"

"What's that?" Brendan stopped to give her his attention, though still wearing a bored look.

"Why did you accept the date with me? By some strange stroke of luck, you actually have some girls interested in you. You also know that I'm interested in someone else. So why didn't you just ignore the letter?"

"Hmm…why, oh why…a simple yet complex question…" Brendan took a moment to ponder his answer.

"Why the heck are you even thinking about it? Obviously, you had some evil plan in your little head to even go, let alone treat me."

Brendan had a thoughtful look on his face as he started to speak. "Actually…the reason I continued is because…I…" Brendan was about to finish his sentence when he stopped abruptly and continued walking.

"What? Hey! Don't just stop right there! Finish!" May demanded.

"I don't think so. I'll tell you if you finish this date."

"….Stingy jerk."

"Ah, here we are." Brendan pointed to a flight of stairs which led to the Lilycove beach.

To May's amazement, close to the ocean was a long beach towel with a picnic basket set on top. In the middle of the ocean were several rock peaks that glistened under the moonlight. It looked like a very romantic spot. "Wow…this is…"

"You might want to pick up your jaw. You don't want any birds nesting in there." Brendan teased, walking towards the spot.

"S-shut up!" May yelled, glaring at her so-called date. The two sat at the picnic site and started to eat. She was surprised to see a lot of delicious foods. What was even more surprising was most of her favorites were present. "So, do you want to start telling me what's going on? This date is starting to get a little weird." Going from hell to…not so hell was a bit off. She figured he was going to play some crazy prank on her or something. Then again, she better make sure her food wasn't poisoned.

Brendan peeked at May with a scrutinizing gaze. "What, are you displeased with the food here?"

"No, it's not that. I can't help but feel you want something out of this."

"You're right, I do."

"Well, what is it? Stop leaving me in suspense already!"

Brendan had a soft, longing expression as he leaned forward to May. May couldn't help but find it a little creepy…but cute. "I want…you…"

May's face turned bright red, shocked beyond comprehension. She almost fell back. "W-W-WHAT?"

Leaning back, Brendan started laughing. "Nah, I'm just kidding!"

'_The hell…?'_ May thought he was serious for a moment. The guy was odder than she expected, if that was possible. "Be serious. I want to know why you went on a date with me."

Brendan paused as he took a sip of juice, his eyes closed. "So, how do you feel right now?"

At this point, May tossed him a dark, flat gaze that demanded answers. "Like strangling you with a dirty sock. Look, can you be serious?"

"I am serious." When Brendan opened his eyes, May could easily tell he meant it. "You're not feeling any sadness whatsoever?"

"No, why would I?"

Smirking victoriously, Brendan shrugged. "No reason. Regardless, I got one thing I wanted."

May was drawing several blanks out of that comment. "What? Really?"

"There _is_ one more thing. Have you ever visited Littleroot Town?"

'_O…kay…'_ Did this date turn into a walk down memory lane? What was that boy driving at? "Yeah, several times."

"When was your first visit?"

"Um…about 10 years ago. I remember because I was wearing this cute white dress then. It was when I met your grandfather."

"The white dress with the butterfly bow…" Brendan reminisced quietly to himself.

May raised an eyebrow in surprise, hearing the comment. "Yeah, that's right! How did you know?"

For a moment, Brendan looked as though he was caught off guard, but quickly recovered. "Lucky guess. Most young girls around that age wear that type of thing. But that's irrelevant, please continue."

"Well anyway, I also remember seeing this kid; I think he had black hair. He was always hiding behind something when he saw me. Seemed like the nervous type. But…he was kinda cute. I just wish I could've talked to him."

"Heh, sounds like a wimp to me." Brendan laughed.

Strangely, May could have sworn his laugh to be a little…forced. Oh well, the kid was a weirdo anyway. "Well, he was, but…he looked like a really nice kid. It's kinda weird, but…he was the first person I ever liked. Heh, don't know why since I could never talk to him. He would always run away. I never found out why he did that. "

"It would be hilarious if you met him by some weird coincidence."

May couldn't help but laugh at the idea. "Yeah, it would be funny. But…I would like that. Oh well, I'll bet he forgotten about me by now."

"You didn't forget him, right?"

"No."

"Then why would he forget you? I wouldn't count someone like that out just yet. The future is always uncertain."

"Huh…" May gave a surprised look towards Brendan. For some reason, Brendan seemed a little too sure. It could be his cocky always right attitude though. "That's pretty nice advice coming from you. I didn't expect that."

"Just like you shouldn't expect to beat me in the next coordinator tournament."

"You can talk tough now, but I'll definitely beat you! Just wait and see!"

"If you lose, you'll treat me to a sundae."

With competitive spirit rivaling Ash's, she was prepared to step up to the challenge. "Hmph, fine! Then how about this: If I win, you have to treat me to a fancy restaurant! And I can order whatever I want!"

Brendan had to chuckle at the huge difference between wagers. "That's fine. Don't cry once I defeat you." He extended his hand to seal the deal.

"That's my line." With a smile, May grabbed his hand and shook it. Maybe Brendan could be a normal person after all.

But that was about to change.

Brendan suddenly pulled her forward, catching her by surprise. Gently, Brendan cupped her chin and planted a quick, gentle kiss on her lips. At this moment, May didn't know what to feel. His lips felt warm and soft, strangely relaxing. She was battling to pull back, but something within her self-conscious yearned to stay there. The second it lasted felt like minutes. When Brendan broke the kiss, she felt like a lost child in a strange world. She was speechless.

With a clever smile, Brendan whispered three simple words in her ear. "…Told you so."

_'What does he mean by...?' _It was then she recalled a statement he made to her in the ice cream parlor. That was more than enough to bring May back to reality. A grand mixture of shock, embarrassment and anger flooded her as she stumbled back, holding herself up. "Wh….wha…what…w-w-what was that all about?"

Standing up, Brendan feigned a look of innocence. "What was what? All I remember was you lunging at me for a kiss. I never realized you felt so strongly for me."

There wasn't a word May could find to express what she felt at that moment. Flabbergasted was the most accurate one she could think of. "But you just…I didn't…I mean you…me…that was…AGH! I can't believe this! I lost my first kiss to this guy!"

And thus her happy world came crashing down.

"Don't forget your first date." Brendan pointed out.

"My first date? How did you…OH YEAH! MY FIRST DATE TOO! AW MAN!" May yelled out in frustration.

This was getting very, very enjoyable to the sinister coordinator. "I've yet to hear any complaints. I'm guessing you found everything satisfactory?"

"You be quiet!" May bellowed, blushing furiously. "You know what? I'm going to my room before you do something else weird." Standing up, she started striding quickly to the Pokémon Center, still burning red in the cheeks.

Of course, Brendan had to leave a final jab to finish off the night. "Ah, before you go. When you see me in your dreams tonight, say hello!"

"SHUT UP!" While practically dashing back to her quarters, she gingerly touched her lips. She didn't know what upset her the most: The fact she was kissed by some devilish weirdo, or the fact she actually liked it…

Whatever the case, it was going to haunt her for years to come.

Back at the beach, Brendan was busy packing things up when another pair of hands started helping out. "I take it things went well?"

Brendan smiled to himself at the thought while walking back to the Pokémon Center with a handful of his belongings. "You know, that date invitation was for _you, _even if it did go under my door by mistake. I was surprised when you told me to go on the date instead of you going. I know you liked her too."

Drew smirked at the comment, also carrying a load. "True, but I felt you deserved a shot. After all, you've been waiting a good while for such a chance. It was too good of a chance, given your 'distinctive taste' in women."

"Well…I guess I would call _her_ a rather distinctive taste, but it's still a taste regardless. It's too bad she's as dense as you've said she was. I guess it wasn't obvious since I dyed my hair."

Drew found that to be a good point. "Ah, that's right. Your favorite color is white, isn't it?" The white haired lad couldn't help but feel embarrassed about it, rubbing his neck shyly.

"It has been for 10 years."

* * *

Clever, no?

Fun fact: Ruby (Brendan from the manga) is actually wearing a hat, his hair is naturally black (at least I think it's black).


	9. Comment corner volume 2: Bushido League

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon. I should add something witty, but this is witty AND questionable.

Like the last one, this will speak for itself.

* * *

_FLASH!_

A light suddenly shone in a dark room, reveal a red haired, green eyed teenager standing with his arms crossed. He was dressed in a blue and black samurai outfit, wearing a small frown. Clearly, he didn't want to be here. _'Why do I have to do this? Stupid author and his antics.'_ The boy thought bitterly. "Alright you geeks, listen up. The author of Bushido League is currently working on other projects and is too busy to work with the fiction that actually matters. So to kill time and reward you all for wasting your lives, I, Kabushi of Team Rocket, was sent to respond to your concerns and comments. Let's make this quick and painless, shall we?"

"HEY, WAIT UP!" A voice called from outside the darkness. Another boy wearing similar clothing ran towards the light. His raven hair covered his eyes as he panted for air. "You gave me the wrong directions! I ended up in the ladies locker room!"

"Fittingly so. I thought it would suit you."

"Suit me? Do you have ANY idea how much trouble I got?"

"Given you're here in one piece, not enough."

"Annoying fat head…" The boy grumbled.

"Ugh, fine. Since Satoshi is here, I might as well split it. We'll each take turns to do away with these pitiful comments so we can go on with our lives." Kabushi flipped through the index cards carrying the comments. "Alright, here's our first comment."

_y u use japanese names?_

_Shane likes POKEMON_

"Simply put, the author thought it would look cool. Did you notice the poor use of Japanese language, as well as the poor consistency lately? Tch, American fan boys these days…"

"But Kabushi, technically speaking, YOU were created in America, but just have a Japanese name. Doesn't that mean you're one of those American fan boys?"

There was a moment of silence. "…Just continue the damn comments."

"Okay, okay. Good grief! Alright, here's the next comment!"

_Who were those crooks, anyway? Nobody important?  
Good job on the Pokemon battles, and adding more suspense to the thing with Yuuki. Heh._

_Ri2_

"Pfft…! Tough luck, Kabushi." Satoshi had to struggle to prevent bursting into laughter.

"NOBODY IMPORTANT? How DARE you downplay our existence? We happen to play a major role in the story's plotline, as well as being the most badass characters in the story!"

"Yeah, that's why you got the ONLY non-unique team name, which sucks by the way."

"I am going to bury you after these comments are done. Anyway, here's another comment."

_Cute chapter. I enjoyed all the Pokemon conversations. And it was great to see Kasumi and Yuuki getting jealous. Loved how their Pokemon taunted them._

_Oh, and it was funny when Hayabusa caught them. I'm surprised he didn't think that they were a couple._

_The part where Haruka kissed Yuuki was cute, but scenes like that are a little overdone. I much preferred their first kiss a couple of chapters ago. Well, that's all. See you later!_

_Hakajin_

"While I'd have to agree about the cliché kiss, there's a more pressing concern to consider…just who the HELL is Hayabusa?"

"Hayabusa is our teacher, right?"

"Yes, but there isn't even a real character description for him. No back story or even relevance to the story."

"…100 Ryo says the author is gonna do something weird with him like he did with Mid-boss."

"What the hell is Ryo?"

"I'll give you a hint: What inspired Bushido League?"

"…Ah, clever."

"Okay, here we go with the next one!"

_I...am...speechless._

_DestinyDeoxys_

"No…you're…not."

"Why…are…you…talking…like…this?"

"Very…obscure…reference…from…a…certain…series…"

"Time…for...the…wait a minute, why the hell am I doing it too?"

"Maybe because you fail."

"Shut it, fool! You started it."

"But you didn't stop it. Who's the fool now?"

"Grr…quit life you imbecile! Let's continue this damn comment corner."

_Wow. Pokemon and Love Hina...sounds strangely appealing. I send my condolences to Takashi: May he Rest in Peace. As much as i like a good filler arc, i rather get on with the main story. I really want to see that Satoshi/Shiroku(Yuuki) showdown that you have been hinting at since Chapter One. keep up the good work._

_BTW: the creator of Love Hina is the great Ken Akamastu-sama. checkout Mahou Sensei Negima for more of the funny XD_

_Sayanara Desu_

_NarutoXHinata_

"Good filler arc my ass! There's nothing good about it."

"Seeing you get owned by a kitty cat made my day."

"Like I said, it was a BIG, FREAKY cat monsters! Speaking of owned, just wait until the next arc. It's called you get your ass kicked worse than Tenten versus Temari."

"At least _I_ have more screen time!"

"Why you little bi—"

"Time for another comment!"

_'ello. we appologize again for trying to rush you. we bet if we had asked you to hurry, we would not have such a wonderful chapter. onto the chapter critique! we didn't understand the primary plot of this chapter. we know it was romance, but maybe because we've forgotten who half of the characters are. fury liked the battle, while i liked the romance. but i wish that there was more expression of satoshi's feelings towards kasumi in this chapter...(no, fury! nothing is wrong with liking romance...not THAT kind of romance, you sick perv!)...mps(multi-personality syndrome. half our family suffers from it) on another note, we've noticed that you have a list of all the teams. we were wondering if you could, beside their names, write their english counterparts? that way, i will know who is who. arigatou gozaimasu. all hail yobei no denchi!(spare batteries... don't ask)...ja ne!_

_Thedisturbedone666666_

"…"

"…"

"…The only response I can think of is that Bushido League isn't the only thing with a lot of characters."

"On another topic, the point of that chapter, 23, was to prove how many idiots Arcadia takes in. Seriously, Super Shippers? What the hell is that?"

"I dunno, but I don't want to be near that Ryuga guy. I still get nightmares when he cuddled me to death."

"You and me both. Okay, we have time for one last comment, then I'll commence with project Kill Satoshi dead."

_Satoshi is the sexiest, coolest, smartest character in the entire story. All of the girls should just marry him and make lots of babies. Kabushi, however, should just die of cancer or something. Seriously, he sucks. He's not even part of the original cast. You should just have Satoshi kick his butt and make him his slave, because he's a jerky, jerk, jerkface._

_Keep up the good work with the almighty Satoshi!_

_P.S. Kabushi sucks._

_SatoKasuFTW_

"WHAT. THE. F(censored). IS. THIS?"

"I have to agree wholeheartedly. What a nice reader."

"Nice reader? You're the bastard who sent this, aren't you?"

"Ehehehe, just wanted to have some fun with you."

"That's it! Stand still so I can cut you!"

"Yipe! Time to go!" Satoshi quickly dashed out the door, Kabushi following in hot, furious pursuit.

* * *

Obscure reference: Seto Kaiba addresses youtube

Inspiration: Check back to the first chapter of Bushido League.

Speechless joke: If you say you're speechless, are you really?


	10. Trainer's soliloquy

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

* * *

It was a rainy night within a deep valley. Due to the constant dangers of this particular valley, there has been little chance of sleep. The Pokémon in the area were known to be nocturnal hunters and prowled almost constantly. For most trainers, this valley would be an off limits area.

But to Ash Ketchum, this was a test of valor and skill.

Unfortunately, he paid for it with his poor sleeping habits.

Sitting by the entrance of the cave they sought shelter at, Ash kept a close watch for wild nocturnal Pokémon. He felt exhausted in every sense possible. Pikachu rested comfortably next to him, but slept lightly in case Ash needed his help. No matter how hard he tried to convince Ash, the trainer refused to let him overexert himself. After all, If Pikachu was unable to fight, it would be trouble.

"Maybe I should've listened…" Admittedly, his stubborn nature, followed by his determination to do what others didn't dare to attempt, fueled his want to surpass this treacherous valley.

Stubborn…

Dense…

Stupid…

Ash had been called numerous things in his lifetime. So many, in fact, he didn't think a dictionary had half of the words he had heard. "Heh, maybe that's the case…" He whispered to himself. The insomnia he's been suffering as of late was not completely wasted, for he had a lot of time to reflect on some matters. More specifically, an important one he had not shared with anyone else.

Love.

The boy had run into hundreds of girls, all interesting in their own way; living by their own rhythm and full of surprises. However, very few stayed with him for a large portion of his life.

Yet, one stayed in his heart and held fast.

"I probably should've said something sooner." The words like dense or dumb weren't that far from the truth.

However, their reasoning behind it was way off.

He wasn't an expert in the world of love, that fact was certain. But, he wasn't completely oblivious either. The trainer couldn't help but sigh. "Really, like I couldn't notice something so obvious. Give me a break, people." It's simple if one stopped to think about it. Why would a girl hold onto such a vain (but valid, he confessed) excuse to travel the continent with a brat who couldn't tell left from right.

It wasn't for kicks or cookies, that's for sure.

The first time he realized this fact started with Misty.

It was also the first time he died.

"Man, I still can't believe I died that day." But more importantly, he got a glimpse of the true side of Misty. The girl cared for him, and even cried for him.

It touched him greatly that someone cared about him in such a way.

But the fun didn't stop there, because Misty wasn't the only one who cared about him.

"Misty is pretty obvious, but who can forget about May…" Though less obscure, Ash had a feeling May fell for him too. He was pretty sure during the moment when he and May watched and Illumise and Volbeat perform a dance. It was there she spoke about love being a beautiful thing and he would understand when he got older.

But the twist is the fact he was older than her.

"Ha, and they call ME dense!" Of course, there's always the chance it was Drew she had in mind, but that's a story for another day. There IS a wild card girl for whom there might be possibilities with, and she was resting with Brock at the end of the cave.

Dawn.

"I don't know whether to call myself lucky or unlucky, though it's probably the latter." Yes, of these girls, only one had embedded herself permanently to his heart. He didn't want his adventures to end with her. He wanted to be her protector, lover, partner, and some other word that ended with an –er.

But that is where his unluckiness begins.

The first reason was pretty simple, at least for him.

"Hey, guess what? I love you tons, and I have a feeling you love me too! So let's start getting lovey dovey together! …Yeah, that would go really well." Despite his wish, Ash was never good with talking to girls in the desired manner, nor was he the romantic type. Though sometimes it was his stubbornness that held him back, he also feared doing something that would damage his chances and make things awkward with her. His next reason, though, was the primary basis for his hesitation.

Misty wanted to be a master Water Pokémon trainer.

May wanted to be the world's best Pokémon coordinator.

Dawn, too, wants to follow her mother's footsteps and become an accomplished coordinator.

"…How the heck would they accomplish their dreams hanging around me?" Selfish as it sounded, he was on this journey for himself and would never stop at anything to reach his goal.

The problem entirely was the fact his dreams and their dreams didn't completely coincide.

"…Dreams suck." He didn't have the heart to see their heartbreak should they have to separate in order to accomplish their dreams. The woman of his dreams was too wonderful for him to be a hindrance, but the least he could do was enjoy her company and help her get closer to her goals while trying to attain his own.

It was selflessly selfish.

"If I meet any more girls on my journeys, I pray to heaven that they have a better excuse than me burning their bikes…" It was seriously growing cliché.

Cute, but cliché.

But…he won't give up on her. One day, he will reveal the emotions he had been skillfully hiding. Someday, they can enjoy a casual walk together, holding hands, fighting, laughing, loving each other to their fullest.

After all, unconditional love meant having your love's happiness before your own, and he would never put her after his own personal gain.

"Someday…I will go up to her and tell her how I feel. Until then, I have to press onward. I wonder if she will wait for me…"

"Hey Ash, it's my turn to keep watch. Get some rest." Brock spoke, emerging from his sleeping bag.

"Wha? Oh, okay." Fatigued, Ash stood up and sauntered over to his blue sleeping bag, finally able to get some rest.

Dreams could be annoying at times, but there was one good thing he could say about it.

"If I can't have her, I can at least dream it."

* * *

In a sense, this is a possibility I think Ash (a mature one at least) might have as a mindset. Interpret this however you like. The person he may be talking about is up to you to decide.

Because I won't tell!


End file.
